Custom artwork holiday overrides

[TheOnyxGuy]

Remember YEARS ago (almost a decade even, jeesh) I made this simple pack that replaces players with their winter variants? Oh, and also made one (technically two, but second one was a fix) Reflektor demo with jolly Christmas theme?

What if besides the snow flakes falling from the top of the screen we could have custom artworks that get load specifically on a set time of year? Whether it's your classic holidays like Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's day or April Fool's day... or perhaps even completely custom time periods like yearly seasons or birthdays? Or ya know what, screw time... what about artwork overrides depending on the device type?

I'm not sure exactly if that's a possibility, but I'm thinking this... Remember "include:" parameter which is usually just as a sort of augment to the regular artwork confs and we can add as many of them as we want:

Code: Select all

include: screenstuff.conf
include: gamestuff.conf
include: editorstuff.conf

For the most part they're only really used to easily disable a whole pack of parameters in one simple move and then to just as easily enable these parameters back on while developing a levelset. Besides that, they don't really have much use, especially when you're done with your levelset and you're more or less organized enough to keep everything in groups with # --- comments above them.

But what if we could expand on these "inclusions" and give them unique names or numbers and then apply corresponding additional parameters about overriding logic. Here's few examples what it could 'potentially' look like:

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# --- Name / date + sort priority
include.<name>: <filename>
include.<name>.time_from: <first_day>
include.<name>.time_until: <last_day>
include.<name>.sort_priority: <sort_value>

include.xmas: xmas.conf
include.xmas.time_from: 20-12
include.xmas.time_until: 31-12
include.xmas.sort_priority: 2

# --- Number / Device or OS
include[<num>]: <filename>
include[<num>].device: <device_type>
include[<num>].version: <os_version>

include[1]: pc_win10.conf
include[1].device: desktop_windows
include[1].version: windows_10

# --- Number (alt) / date (single day) and device
include.<num>: <filename>
include.<num>.date: <date>
include.<num>.device: <device_type>
include.<num>.version: <os_version>

include.1: aprilfools.conf
include.1.date: 01-04
include.1.device: mobile_android

Yeah, that sounds like a bit too much, my mind is overthinking too frequently, so I will very much understand both the denial and restriction just to specific holidays, and even if, I think you get my idea. I'm basically giving such idea so in the future both Holger and we could add our own flair for christmas or other holidays, perhaps have seasonal changes so one levelset would change appearance whether it's winter, summer or autumn. Or maybe even finally have separate screen graphics for R'n'D when it's loaded on Android without it being a separate artwork pack, who knows

Plus that would give overall a bit more individuality and usability for the 'include:' parameter, since for now the only thing is useful for is separating certain parameters to disable them in group, but once you're fully done with a pack, it takes two seconds to move these back into the graphicsinfo file making the 'include:' parameter obsolete.

[BrownSky]

Interesting idea! I have to admit I have little interest in Christmas packs and the like, and am more interested in making it easier to create new kinds of levels, via enhancements to the game engines and the level editor.

TBH, RnD is the only Boulderdash-style game I have come across with cute toons and falling snow and the like, and I certainly don't rate it the best one* on account of those features - more the opposite.

Otherwise being able to play RnD out of the box in 'landscape format' (= about double as many columns visible as are currently so; may require altering the status box on the right to display as a strip on the top of the screen, like in the original Boulderdash) would seem like a highly valuable enhancement that would please a lot of players, old and new.

YMMV.

John

* I've always been very fond of the Cave Chaos games, which I think are quite unique and different-feeling, but they are no longer maintained or added to and have suffered "bitrot" over the years, in the sense of mostly no longer playing nice with Windows 11.